- Carefully chosen texts and translations, from the most accurate and most readable sources, offer illuminating parallels to the Old Testament and Hebrew Bible.
- Texts arranged by genre and by place of origin.
- Informative chapter introductions and introductions to each reading.
- Extensive notes giving biblical references.
- Presentation geared to a non-specialist audience, with minimal scholarly apparatus and consistent spelling of all names and places throughout.
- Illustrations show the variety of writing systems and materials used in the ancient Near East.

In A Reader of Ancient Near Eastern Texts: Sources for the Study of the Old Testament, leading biblical scholar Michael D. Coogan presents a collection of texts that introduce students to the larger world surrounding the Old Testament. Dating from the third millennium BCE to the turn of the era, the readings have been carefully selected from the most accurate sources and arranged by genre and place of origin.

They provide historical correlations to people and events mentioned in the Bible; parallels to biblical genres, motifs, institutions, and concepts; and windows into the lives of ordinary people. The texts are enhanced by chapter and reading introductions, extensive biblical references, and illustrations.